This discussion will revolve around Luo Zhongli's iconographic painting, Father (1980), in the context of cultural changes in the 1980s' China. In particular, the session will question what it means to 'see things as they are' at a time when socialist realism was still the dominant paradigm even as the influence of Western forms was gaining purchase. Luo's seemingly uncomplicated image of an ordinary old peasant has a disturbing effect on its contemporary viewers, to the point that an effort to tame the image has left a 'stain' on the work itself.

As the role of drones in targeting so-called terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering eastern Afghanistan increases, both in frequency and ferocity, A.S.M. Ali Ashraf debunks three myths about drone strikes and points to three alternative realities. Drawing on a database of all the reported drone strikes between June 2004 and December 2009 in Pakistan's FATA region, Ashraf claims that U.S. drone strikes are not precision airstrikes; they cannot avoid civilian casualties; and such strikes are carried out with the tacit support from the Pakistani State.

Often copied, but never truly duplicated, Asian Horror is renowned for providing genre fans with some of the most boundary-pushing and artful cinema experiences to be found.

So, please join us for a distinctive selection of blood-curdling, spine-tingling, watch-with-one-eye-covered, spooky films this Halloween season.

Often copied, but never truly duplicated, Asian Horror is renowned for providing genre fans with some of the most boundary-pushing and artful cinema experiences to be found.

So, please join us for a distinctive selection of blood-curdling, spine-tingling, watch-with-one-eye-covered, spooky films this Halloween season.

This talk, given by Gyewon Kim of the Department of History of Art and Architecture, addresses how photography engaged with the production of the modern sacred geographies in Japan. It particularly focuses on the meanings and implications of two distinctive photographic events: photography's role in the imperial progresses from 1872-1886; and the part photography played in the commemoration of the emperor's sacred trace, which surfaced in his death in 1912.

Taiko artist Kenny Endo celebrates his 35th year of taiko (Japanese drum) drumming in 2010 with a performance tour featuring an exciting group of musicians from both Japan and the US. One of the leading personas in contemporary percussion and rhythm, Endo is the vanguard of the taiko genre, continuing to pave new paths in this Japanese style of drumming. A performer, composer, and teacher of taiko, he has received numerous awards and accolades. He was the first foreigner to be honored with a 'natori,' stage name, in Japanese classical drumming.

Masayoshi Shibatani, of Rice University, will deliver this talk as part of the Japanese Speaker Series.

The first chapters in the narrative of Islam in the Malay-Indonesian world are dotted with some significant question marks. Nevertheless, it is commonly agreed that it was India that played a particularly important role as the conduit for diffusing the Islamic belief and ideas to the Malay-Indonesian world. It was only in the eighteenth century that the Middle East began to play a prominent role in the narrative of Islam in the Malay-Indonesian world.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania and the Toshiba International Foundation are proud to present the Kenny Endo Ensemble Taiko concert at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, located near the North Shore and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh's Manchester neighborhood, just 10 minutes by bus from Downtown. Kenny Endo is a world famous taiko drum artist who has the honor of being the first non-Japanese national to receive the title of Natori (stage name and master's degree) of Hogaku hayashi' traditional drumming.

Lecture by Liangyu Fu of the Department of Communications.